Top Dog: Shane van Gisbergen
There’s something about Martinsville Speedway that seems to suit the driving style of road course aces.
It could be the tight corners, heavy braking or steep curbing requiring a tidy, precise line that feel more like certain road course characteristics than an average oval.
After 500 laps, Shane van Gisbergen finished on the lead lap in 12th in his first Cup Series start at Martinsville. In fact, this was his first Cup race on a short track and just his fourth non-superspeedway oval race as a Cup Series driver.
.@shanevg97 earns his best career finish on an oval with a 12th-place finish. #NASCAR #Xfinity500
— Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneCPT) November 4, 2024
While he didn’t make any superb impressions during the race, van Gisbergen stayed mainly out of the limelight — except for the corner Ryan Blaney punted him into William Byron.
.@Blaney goes through to second after contact! 😮
In a must-win situation, the No. 12 now turns his attention to @keselowski! pic.twitter.com/7jbdl5R0N2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 3, 2024
The Kiwi fell off the lead laps a couple of times only to find his way back with great strategy and a quick car. SVG has definitely shown to be a quick learner, and he aced his first Martinsville quiz.
Let’s also talk about the car. The Kaulig Racing team overall has noticeably lacked speed outside of the road course races, and the No. 16 car hasn’t found too much success this season.
However, AJ Allmendinger flexed consistent race speed a week ago at Homestead, winding up in eighth at the checkered flag. After another solid run this weekend, maybe the Kaulig crews have found a bit of something at the tail end of this season.
The 2025 season starts with two superspeedways and a road course, and then the Cup Series returns to the same four tracks that end this current year. It will be interesting to see if SVG can continue to grow in his learning, or if Kaulig Racing can improve on their late surge and get off a better start with Allmendinger.
Notable Underdog Runs
Let’s continue this Kaulig Racing talk for just a second because the team as a whole really showed out.
Our best Martinsville race BY FAR!
Extremely proud of how far we’ve come at this track. 👊
One to go in 2024! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ptBovse7LR
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) November 4, 2024
Somehow, Daniel Hemric finished on the lead lap after falling victim to Carson…
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